Creamy Kale & Mushroom Gratin (Vegan)
Vegan Mushroom Gratin with kale is a favorite creamy comfort food dish! It’s a delicious side or main meal filled with tender mushrooms, kale, vegan cream, and topped with almond parmesan!
This vegan Kale Mushroom Gratin is true comfort food at its finest. It’s creaminess and flavors will have you OOHING and AAHING with delight!
This recipe is inspired from Food 52 entitled, Spinach, Mushrooms and Cream for Dinner, which is adapted from Nigel Slater’s ‘Tender.’ I decided to veganize it and it’s definitely one of those dishes I will come back to again and again!
Why We Love This Recipe!
- It’s easy. Made with minimal ingredients, this Kale and Mushroom Gratin is super simple and easy to prepare—in fact, it’s almost foolproof!
- Healthy and dairy-free. Mushrooms and kale are both nutrient-dense vegetables. You will not miss any of the standard dairy products typically used in gratins—that I promise you!
- Serve as a side dish or main meal. I served my kale and mushroom casserole over a bed of farro but you can use whatever grain you like. Even mashed potatoes or pasta would be great!
Ingredients You’ll Need
Onion, mushrooms, and kale are cooked until tender with wine and vegan cream and then baked until bubbly, creating a simple, yet delicious plant-based mushroom casserole that is perfect for both casual and elegant dining!
Here is everything you will need:
- Mushrooms – Brown mushrooms are best, and yield the most nutrients.
- Kale – Use curly or flat kale, and for ease use pre-cut (also can sub with spinach).
- Onion – Use a small onion or large shallot.
- White wine – Any vegan dry white wine will do.
- Vegan Cream – Make homemade vegan cream or use store-bought.
- Plant milk – Use your favorite plain and unsweetened, I used cashew milk here.
- Salt + pepper – As always we recommend to taste.
Can I add herbs or other flavors?
Yes, this recipe is very simple, but feel free to add 1 teaspoon thyme or garlic powder for another layer of flavor.
How To Make Vegan Mushroom Gratin with Kale
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
- Heat oil over medium heat. Add onion and saute for 3 – 4 minutes. Add mushrooms and cook another 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until some of the mushroom liquid cooks away and they start to brown.
- Add the white wine and boil for a couple of minutes.
- Add kale, and continue cooking until soft, about 4 minutes.
- Add the cream and milk, and let simmer for several more minutes. Season with salt & pepper. Turn off the heat. Tip: If you have time, leave this mixture to steep; the cream and milk will become wonderfully mushroomy.
- Transfer the mixture to a shallow baking dish. Place in the oven and bake for about 25 minutes or until golden and bubbly. Let cool for a few minutes before serving.
And now your creamy gratin is ready!
How To Store Leftovers
- Refrigerator: Leftovers can be stored for 5 days in a covered container.
- Freezer: This mushroom gratin is freezer-friendly and freezes well for up to 2 – 3 months. To freeze, let cool completely and store in freezer-safe containers (affiliate link), leaving 1/2-inch head space for expansion. Let thaw before reheating. You can also freeze larger portions in large ziplock bags.
- Reheat: Simply re-warm on the stovetop over low heat until warmed through, adding a little plant milk for moisture as needed. Alternately, reheat in the microwave using 30 – 60 second intervals, stirring after each, until warm.
Can I Make This Mushroom Gratin Ahead?
Yes, you can make this vegan gratin ahead of time. It will be even better as the flavors will have time to steep together. To make ahead, simply prepare as directed, cover, and keep in the refrigerator or freezer until ready to bake.
Serving Suggestions
This savory and creamy gratin can be served in a variety of ways for a hearty plant-based main meal. Here are a few of my favorite options:
- Grain: Serve on a bed of Farro, quinoa, white rice, brown rice, or even black rice.
- Pasta: Serve over pasta such as orzo, couscous, bowtie, penne, linguine, fettuccini, and more.
- Bread: This would be great served over toasted and lightly buttered homemade Artisan Bread!
- Vegetable: Serve topped on a baked potato, Mashed Potatoes, Oven Roasted Red Potatoes, or with a side of Green Beans Almondine.
More Vegan Dinner Recipes!
- Hearty Lentil & Mushroom Ragu
- One Pot Fettuccine with Oyster Mushroom ‘Scallops’ and Peas
- Blackened Tofu with Savory Kale + Quinoa
- Mushroom Bourguignon
- Easy Vegan Calzones (with mushrooms and kale)
- Vegetable Vegan Lasagne
If you try this vegan mushroom gratin recipe, please let me know! Leave a comment and rate it below. I love to hear what you think, or any changes you make.
PrintKALE & MUSHROOM GRATIN
This vegan kale and mushroom gratin is creamy and delicious! Serve over farro, quinoa, barley, pasta, or whole grain toast.
- Prep Time: 10 min
- Cook Time: 35 min
- Total Time: 45 minutes
- Yield: Serves 4 – 6 1x
- Category: Dinner, Side
- Method: saute, bake
- Cuisine: Vegan, French
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil or water for water saute
- 1 small onion (or large shallot), diced
- 1 lb. (16 oz.) mushrooms, sliced or quartered, cremini or baby bella’s
- 1 1b. (16 oz. or 2 large bunches) kale, stems removed and chopped (or use pre-cut for ease)
- 1/4 cup white wine
- 1 cup vegan heavy cream (recipe in notes)
- 1/4 cup unsweetened almond milk, more as needed
- himalayan salt & cracked pepper to taste
To serve
- Almond Parmesan (a pantry staple)
- Grain or pasta (farro, quinoa, rice, barley, bowtie, couscous, penne)
Instructions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Heat oil over medium heat, add onion and saute for 3 – 4 minutes, and mushrooms and cook another 5 minutes, stirring occasionally until some of mushroom liquid cooks away and they start to brown.
Add the white wine and boil for a couple minutes. Add kale, and continue cooking until soft, about 4 minutes.
Add the cream and milk, let simmer for several more minutes. Turn off heat. (If you have time, leave this mixture to steep; the cream and milk will get wonderfully mushroomy.) Season with salt and pepper.
Transfer the mixture to a shallow baking dish. Place in the oven and bake for about 25 minutes, or until golden and bubbly. Top with a light dusting of almond parmesan.
Serve over a bed of farro, barley, white or brown rice, pasta or pasta of choice. Top with a tad more almond parmesan and salt & pepper to taste. Enjoy with the rest of the wine or a nice glass of lemon water.
Notes
Feel free to sub the kale with 16 oz. fresh spinach.
This recipe is super simple, but feel free to add 1 teaspoon thyme and/or garlic powder when cooking the mushrooms.
Heavy Cashew Cream:
Make your own heavy cashew cream with this simple recipe:
- 3/4 cup cashews (soaked at in hot water for 10 minutes or cool water for 2 hours)
- 3/4 cup water, slightly more as needed
- juice of 1/2 lemon
Cashews should be soaked in water, covering them with 2 inches of water. Soak in hot water for 10 minutes, or 2 – 3 hours in cool water. Rinse cashews well. Place cashews, water and lemon juice into the blender/food processor and blend until smooth and creamy scraping down the sides as needed (the NutriBullet (affiliate link) is a perfect size blender for this job.). Can be made a day or two ahead and kept in the refrigerator until ready to use.
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I love mushrooms, but my family is opposed to them. What would be a good "meaty" alternative to mushrooms in this dish? If there isn't really a good alternative, then I will just have to make this and eat it all myself! Thanks!
Hi Beth, I can't think of a good replacement as the mushrooms have that earthy flavor and pairs so well here. I think you should eat it all yourself! ;)
I just ordered 3 pounds of cashews. Can't wait to make this!
Enjoy!
Do you soak the cashews in the water and lemon juice in the heavy cream recipe? Or do you soak them in a separate measurement of water?
Hi Katie, soak the cashews separetly for at least 3 hours or overnight, in plain water. Rinse well. I usually use a meausuring cup adding water 2 to 3 times the amount of water to cover them as they will swell up. I'll clarify that in the recipe too. Thanks for the question! :)
heavy cream ???
The heavy cream is made of cashews as the recipe shows. But for just this reason I will specify more clearly in the recipe that it is a heavy cashew cream. Thank you for pointing that out! :)
I made this dish tonight and it was so good. My husband liked it too. I came here to post this comment and realized that I forgot to serve it over the brown rice I made! doh! oh well, it was still good.
Lol…You're too funny! I'm so glad you both liked this. Thanks for stopping by to leave your comment. :)
This looks great!! I need to get to it and make my almond parmesan STAT!!!
This was excellent! I'm planning on making it again tonite. :)
You have amazing recipes Julie, this one looks so delicious… I love mushrooms, and this looks like a perfect creamy mushroom recipe to try!!
Thank you Lysa! This one is surely a keeper…I know you will love it. :)
Wow. I bet this tastes divine. Immediately bookmarked this one, thank you! I also am partial to using nut based replacements rather than other veganized dairy alternatives. I'm definitely not about the processed stuff….
Hi Bridge. You will love this then. It tastes amazing and is sure to please. Cheers to creating good habits! Enjoy your gratin. :)
Hi, Julie! Thanks for your quick reply!
That's nice to know, we're big fans of leftovers. :-)
LOL, no – definitely not local to So Cal! (I live in northern Wyoming). I had a feeling it might be an heirloom or made by a local craftsperson or something. If it's not much trouble, I'd love the name of the artist (or their shop). But if it is, please don't worry about it. We'll be going to a craft fair on Whidbey Island, WA this summer and we have a local one a few weeks after that, so I'll keep my beady eyes peeled for something similar. Yours looks like it holds quite a bit – is it as deep as a Corning ware casserole dish or more shallow? It's sure pretty.
It won't be any trouble at all, I'm going to call my parents today for something else so I will surely ask about the dish and if they have something available for delivery of sorts I'll get back to you. Hopefully you will find something similar at your local craft fairs. They are fun to go too!
This is good size dish…I would say it holds about 2.5 quarts easily. It's on the shallow side at about 2 inches deep. It's a good size casserole dish for my needs. :)
This sounds (and looks) as delicious as you describe! Kale and mushrooms, two of my favorite foods. And easy for me to make oil-free. I definitely intend to try this!
I absolutely love your ♡ shaped baking dish! Where did you find it?
(I recently discovered your blog through Pinterest, where someone had pinned your almond parmesan recipe. Another I intend to try!)
Thank you! It was truly a great dish, even the left overs heated up really well.
This dish was given to me by my parents. They do go to a lot of art & craft fairs here in Southern California and picked it up from one of the artists. I'll check into it if you like…maybe they have an online shop if your not local to So Cal.
Glad we have connected. The almond parmesan is a great item for the pantry. I find that I use it quite a bit and is handy to have on hand.
I know you will love this…especially because you love kale and mushrooms already! Cheers :)
Hi!!! I’m loving your blog is so helpful since I’m starting a plant-based diet. In these recipe it says for white wine. What can I substitute it for???
Btw. Love your recipes, keep up the good work.❤️❤️❤️❤️
Hi Inara,
You can completely omit the white wine if you like, maybe add just a tad more water.
Thank you so much for the kind words. I’m so happy you’re finding the recipes to your liking! Cheers :)